John 15:1-8
May 10th, 2009
"Abide"
The more I contemplated this message the more I realized I had picked an unfortunate title. I should have titled it “Abide” rather than “Pruned”. The latter title had connotations of a Metamucil commercial.
After abiding in the scripture for awhile I realized that Jesus used the word “Abide” or reference to it 9 times!
Being “pruned” is a result of “abiding” with Jesus. The “abiding” leads to “pruning” and not the other way around. And the word in Greek that is translated “pruned” also has the connotations of cleansing and healing, which sound much more positive than pruned.
In fact in verse 3 which reads, “You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.” The word “cleansed” is the same Greek word as “pruned.”
All of this passage speaks of relationship. Jesus is the “true vine.” The “Father” is the vinegrower and you and I are the branches.
As one man wrote, “The vine needs the branches; the branches need the vine (fruit doesn’t grow on the vine); and the vinegrower needs both. There is in the community of faith a built in interdependence of relationship between God, Christ (who is the Church) and believers as disciples.” Desperate Preachers Site
“All three elements Vinegrower, Vine and branches are essential to the production of fruit.” New International Bible Commentary on Luke & John
What is fascinating about this image of Christ as the vine and we as the branches is that when you look at a vine, the vine and the branches merge seamlessly with each other. It is hard to distinguish where one ends and the other begins. When we abide with Jesus it becomes so in our lives.
As people see us they see God. As they are in relationship with us they are in relationship with God. And as we are in a relationship with God we are brought into a relationship with others. God then prunes out anything that blocks our relationships of love.
1 John 4:7 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”
Now in pruning we become more capable of bearing fruit and here in our scripture when it speaks of “fruit” what has in mind are “works of love.” When we abide in Christ the vine, we are pruned by God and made so that we produce works of love.
Now I have never raised grapes. The pruning I like to do is on mesquite trees and I use a chain saw, a pruning saw and clippers. My trees are to the size where small measures are not enough, so I regularly use my chain saw. Using a chain saw may sound drastic but here is a pastor’s description of pruning grape vines. He lives in an area of New York that grows lots of grapes.
“My congregation was made up almost entirely of vinyardists. They grew grapes for a living and sold them to Welch’s and to several wineries.
In the winter months these hardy souls prune their grape vines to the point where one might think them mad. There is nearly nothing left of the plant after pruning save a spindly, dry, dead looking branch.
In the spring new growth begins. By this time—mid May—the plants begin to fill out and green up.
Soon a second pruning will take place. Grapes produce 3 buds each spring they are called the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary buds (1,2,3). The vinegrower will skillfully prune off the secondary and tertiary buds so that the Primary bud will receive all of the goodness the vine can carry to it.
This makes for sweeter bigger grapes. One thing that struck me as I learned about this art of growing grapes is that the things that are pruned in the spring are not bad, evil or ungrape. The 2nd and 3rd buds would have born grapes—not oranges or worse asparagus. They would have yielded grapes. But vinegrowers to ensure the best grapes, put the focus of the vine into the primary bud.”
Pastor Bill a UM from NY
The point is we are pruned just like grape vines to bear sweeter, better fruit. God takes things out of our lives that stand in the way of loving others. God does this to help us grow. It happens in relationship with Jesus as we abide with him.
Some of it is natural to our relationship with Jesus. Things just drop out of our lives as we grow closer to God but other things the Spirit just keeps bringing to mind and we have to make a choice to drop them out, just like we make a choice to follow Jesus and be in relationship with Him.
All of this happens in relationship with God and with others. Much of it happens in relationship with our parents and since today is Mother’s Day I will speak about how our relationship of love with our mothers is a reflection of the love of God for us.
The love of mothers is so important and so strong that Helen Hunt Jackson wrote, “The woman who creates and sustains a home, and under whose hands children grow up to be strong and pure men and women is a creator second only to God.”
Dr. Meck of Lancaster Theological Seminary said, “A Mother’s love will go with her son whether he goes to the governor’s chair or the electric chair.” Paul said, “What can separate us from the love of God?”
Now I know for some their mother’s may have not been the best. I know some wished to be mothers and couldn’t, but that has not stopped many from mothering, from nurturing the bodies, minds and spirits of others.
That hasn’t stopped many from producing fruit, works of love.
A story was told in honor of all who nurture our minds, bodies and spirits by a man who simple refers to himself as Texas Rev. He writes of such a woman.
“Her name was “Mom” Mundell. Her first name was Emily, but everyone on post called her Mom. She single-handedly ran the Christian Serviceman’s Center in the small town outside the boundaries of Ft. Dix and McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. She was in her 80s when I knew her, spry, bright-eyed, and sharp.
Although she had once been engaged, she had never married. She was far from alone, however; she had a large and ever expanding family of young soldiers and members of the air force.
The Center was run on a shoe string, dependent upon the contributions of those who received its ministry. I remember it as a place in need of a good coat of paint. What it lacked in funding however was compensated for by the gifts of Mom Mundell.
Mom was the Center’s mainstay and sole minister. Like most mothers, Mom did it all: she cooked and served the meals to service members, presided at worship, and led in the fellowship over jigsaw puzzles and game boards.
Mom always had time: time to listen, time to talk, time to pray. She was the first woman preacher I ever met. Her low-keyed ministry gave spiritual birth to many and spiritual nurture too many more. She may not have been anyone’s mother, but she truly was everyone’s Mom.
With the approach of Mother’s Day, I find myself remembering not only my mother, but also those godly women, like Mom Mundell, who have nourished and sustained my faith life. In their faces, in their voices, in their presence, I was given a glimpse of life as it might be, a glimpse of something—Someone—higher.
In their company I experienced the nurture of the Divine. I give thanks to each and every one of them.” Desperate Preachers Site
I know there are “bad” mothers, but most are adequate to awesome. Today we celebrate the good. We celebrate those whose love has introduced us to the Divine. We celebrate all who nurture our bodies, souls and minds.
The major call in our scripture is to abide, to be in a nurturing relationship with God by being in relationship with others in the church. As much as we want to at times to give up on the Church, as much as others disappoint us, there are those who inspire us and draw us closer to God and nurture our souls day by day.
There are those that as we abide with them we abide with Jesus and when we abide with Jesus we abide with God.
We all need friends to help us on the way in life to keep us on the right path. No one knows this more than someone who has been in AA and needed to call their sponsor.
We abide with Jesus in the Walk to Emmaus reunion groups, in Bible studies and small group ministries. For some of us we abide with Jesus most powerfully in the company of just one other experiencing the truth of Jesus words, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them.”
A Catholic Priest at a wedding we did together once reminded me that a marriage produces a new church for two are bound together in love and in relationship with God.
Often within a family those two are simply mother and child and its funny, it matters not how old you are, your mom is still your mom, and her love is always as strong and that is what we celebrate today.
And we must remember whether or not we are a mom or dad someone is always watching and we inspire others more than we know. You know our children's first image of God is a reflection of their relationship with us!
I came across a piece called “When You Thought I Wasn’t Looking” that speaks of the importance of mothering/fathering/parenting love. It speaks of the importance of our witness in producing fruit, works of love. Here it is in part:
“When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately wanted to paint another one.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you feed a stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.
When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you make my favorite cake for me and I learned that the little things can be the special things in life.
When you thought I wasn’t looking I heard you say a prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.
When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other.
When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you give of your time and money to help people who had nothing, and I learned that those who have something should give to those who don’t.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be.” Mikey’s Funnies
Enclosed in our bulletin today is a Family Covenant for Love. It seems like this is just for “families with children” but it is for families of all shapes and sizes. Even if you are single you can create a family like Mom Mundell did.
Now this Family Covenant for Love is an organized way to nurture love. As Methodists if we are anything we are organized, so I give this to you as a way of taking today’s message of abiding in Christ’s love with you.
It’s a decision to abide in Christ’s love. It is a decision each of us make. It is a decision, a commitment, covenant that needs to be made again and again. It is decision that needs to be renewed daily.
Abiding is a continuous act. It starts now and then carries on into the future.
Christ calls us to abide in his love and through this be pruned, cleansed, and healed to bear ever deeper, sweeter fruit, ever greater works of love.
May you abide and be pruned so that one day your will will be so in tune with the Father that unconsciously you will bear the fruits of love.
Your will will be so in tune with the Christ that whatever you ask for will be exactly what God wants to give you. That is the meaning of verse 7 “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish and it will be done for you.”
You will be all that you can be made in the image of God.
Amen
